WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney has called himself "severely conservative" but an expert on religion and politics said the Republican presidential front-runner, a Mormon, is a product of "Mormon culture," which contains "a real strain of moderation and pragmatism" on issues like same-sex relationships, abortion and immigration.

David Campbell, co-author of "American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us" and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said at a policy briefing Thursday that "the moderation you see in Romney the candidate, and I suppose in Romney the governor of Massachusetts, I would say pretty nicely reflects what you see in the public opinion polls of the rank and file of the Mormon community."

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